Console Corner: Mad Max review

Damien Lucas

You know there aren’t enough third-person action-adventure vehicular combat video games set in an open world these days but now at least there is a quality one.

Mad Max takes what the likes of Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby and Road Rash did before it and gives it a next gen makeover.

There is a huge emphasis on vehicular combat in Mad Max in which the gamer takes on the role of the famous title character.

According to the publisher of the game, Warner Bros, up to 60% of the campaign requires the player to drive although weapons, such as flamethrowers and a mounted cannon, and a grappling hook can also be added to the Magnum Opus so this isn’t any old cruise down a quiet country lane on a Sunday afternoon.

The more I play Mad Max the better it gets. Some reviews have criticised its repetitive objectives, which I understand, but in this game you actually want to complete them.

I’m not someone who wants to get all the achievements and trophies or find all the collectibles in my games, I’m not bothered by that. But in Mad Max I did – you find yourself wanting to clear an area so there is no threat and loot everything, because there might be the odd surprise waiting to be found.

Simple things like raiding a camp, but being able to see how much scrap is available to loot, how many insignias need to be found, history objects etc becomes strangely addictive and it makes you want to explore the vast, beautiful and desolate sandbox environment Max inhabits.

Without too much of a spoiler, the game follows Max on his journey to the Plains of Silence. Things take an unexpected turn when a group of War Boys (run by warlord Scabrous Scrotus, psychotic son of the Immortal Joe) run him off the road and steal his clothes, supplies, weapons and car before leaving him to rot in the desert sun. From there on in it is all about vengeance. The combat, both in vehicle and out, may feel somewhat clunky at first but evolves as you progress and before you know you will be pulling off kinds of moves and combos.

Overall I would say some slight visual problems and the aforementioned repetitiveness are the only real negatives in what is a thoroughly engaging rampage through a huge and intriguing wasteland. You can’t help but be enthralled in what is one of the games of 2015 so far.

The more I play Mad Max the better it gets. Some reviews have criticised its repetitive objectives, which I understand, but in this game you actually want to complete them.